i am a beginner to digital photography and plan on buying a superzoom camera.. maybe later upgrade to a DSLR. My main interests are in twilight, landscape photography, along with the usual outdoor / family/ holiday photography..

I would like to have a camera that can offer me maximum manual overrides. I had finalized upon the Lumix Fz40, but was told that CCD sensors are out.. nd hence not advisable especially when a lot of the CMOS family are out already.. Next option i had was a Nikon P 500, however, it has a smaller aperture F/3.5 compared to Lumix FZ 40's F/2.8. Also the image stabilization in Nikon P500 is apparently not upto the mark.

Can you advise on which one of the two would be apt for my use?
Or, are there other superzooms with better specs in the ~400$- 500$ range?

XiPh - Have a look at Gordon's very detailed Review of the Panasonic FZ100 on the Forum here - "Reviews" at the left end of the black bar up top.

The FZ100 is the higher-end model to the FZ40, and seems to have just about all a bridge-camera user would want, including RAW, several speeds of fast-continuous up to 11fps, all the usual shooting modes including Manual, and a wide range of easy-use modes, including Scenes, through to quite advanced user functions. And - it does Std and Full HD video.

It has a range of accessories, including flash, and a "proper" (that is, made by Panasonic, and intended for the camera, so won't damage it) - screw-in optical Teleconverter - if you need to extend the 24x zoom, anyway...

Others might have suggstions, too - but do look at that FZ100 Review...

And no, I don't own one, my last buy was a Fuji HS10, my next will be a Pentax K-R - but if I was buying a bridge zoom now, it'd be the FZ100.

You specifically mention twilight photography. If you can accept long exposure times (no moving objects causing motion blur) then a compact camera may well do the job when mounted on a tripod. But there's no substitute for a bigger lens when it comes to capturing those photons and that usually implies buying into a camera system with a bigger sensor as well. Looking at your budget I'm wondering if the Sony NEX-3 might be an option? You can read Gordon's review here to see how well the camera performs. If it is an option so far as both budget and size are concerned then you'd initially be throwing away the long telephoto capability of a superzoom but on the flip side you could start building a lens collection you wouldn't need to throw away every time you wanted to upgrade your camera.

I can only refer you to Gordon's reviews as I have no experience with the 1000D. I mentioned the NEX rather than the larger DSLRs because I was under the impression that size was an issue for you and that, as an example of the new breed of compact system/mirrorless cameras it might have dropped off your personal radar screen.

There are plenty of video reviews of the 1000D on Youtube. The metering system isn't quite as good as the models up, it is smaller, the physical grip is not to everyone's taste, and in one review, they said that the 450D was only £50 (GBP) more. That does apply to UK currency though, and applicable to the time that the video was filmed, as well.

It has been said on here before that lenses are more important than cameras themselves (based on DSLRs).

I'd consider an EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable lens) camera if I were you. They can be extremely compact, such as the NEX-3 or NEX-5 and they perform like DSLRs as they have APS-C sized sensors. If you're really into twilight and low-light photography, this is the way to go over a compact.

EVIL cameras offer much better high-ISO performance, so you'll get much less noise in your shots. I'd also rather carry an EVIL or DSLR over a compact for landscapes as well, you have a wide range of wide angle lenses, which are all probably higher-quality than the lens of a bridge cameras.

If you REALLY need a high-zoom telephoto lens though, a superzoom is a good, cheaper alternative. They're not bad cameras, but I'd think that you'd be better with an EVIL or DSLR camera.

@ Bob : Thanks Bob.. i went through the Recommended Budget SLR's.. whats your take on Canon EOS 1000D.. i know its an old model.. but what do you say?

Before buying a 1000D I'd look for a used 30D which was a Semi-Pro camera. It's faster (5 pictures per second against 3 pictures), has a better, bigger viewfinder, a better build quality and it's quite affordable at the moment.